Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 333 The Beginning of Movable Type Printing

Back at the manor, before Shi Wanxia could even feel happy, Shuyun and Lin Yiyu anxiously pulled her to the workshop.

"Sister Shi, that template is cracked, but we didn't touch it!"

Shi Wanxia's heart tightened. Today, she had just received His Majesty's reward for the successful experiment of movable type printing template. How could a problem arise as soon as she got home? Without time to think, the group hurriedly ran to the workshop in the backyard.

Upon entering, one would see a floorboard that had cracked into several pieces.

Shi Wanxia's heart skipped a beat, forgetting her sadness. She quickly searched for the cause, and after a long time, she determined that the mold and the clay were incompatible, causing the mold to break. What should she do?

Cui Zhihao also observed for a long time. Although he had never seen it before, he had heard Miss Shi mention it.

Shi Wanxia thought for a long time and suddenly had an idea: "The principle of movable type printing is to make each character into a small square, which is then assembled as needed during typesetting, and can be disassembled and reused after printing. This way, it is not necessary to re-carve every book."

Choi Ji-ho's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! But what materials should we use? Wood is prone to warping, and metal is too expensive..."

"How about we use clay first?" Shi Wanxia recalled what she had learned from her history textbook.

Fine clay is used to make type molds, which are then fired for use.

The two immediately set to work. Cui Zhihao brought out high-quality clay, while Shi Wanxia used a brush to write down dozens of commonly used characters.

Choi Ji-ho carved a mold in relief according to the characters, and then pressed the soft clay into the mold to make clay movable type.

After numerous trials, they finally fired the first batch of clear and usable clay movable type.

"It's a success!" Shi Wanxia held the first printed page, on which the two characters "Cang Ling" were clearly visible, and her hands trembled slightly with excitement.

Choi Ji-ho was equally excited, but quickly calmed down: "This is just the beginning. We need more typefaces, better inks, and a more stable printing process..."

“There are also talented people,” Shi Wanxia added. “This is not a task that one or two people can accomplish.”

The next morning, Shi Wanxia embarked on her search for talent.

She first came to Liuxiang in the north of the city, where it is said that a talented woman named Liu Qingci with extremely high calligraphy skills lived.

The Liu family's gate was tightly shut. The gatekeeper, seeing Shi Wanxia's simple attire, spoke coldly: "My young lady does not receive guests."

Shi Wanxia remained calm and took out a piece of paper from her sleeve: "Please present this to Miss Liu and tell her that someone wants to inquire about the mysteries of the 'Feibai style' calligraphy."

The paper contained Liu Qingci's most prized poem, printed with movable type, but he deliberately made special treatment on a few characters.

As expected, less than a quarter of an hour later, the Liu family's gate reopened, and a beautiful and refined young woman strode out.

Where does this character come from?

Liu Qingci asked directly, "Why is your handwriting so similar to mine, yet slightly different at certain turns?"

Shi Wanxia smiled and bowed: "This is the art of printing. If Miss Liu is interested, I can explain it in detail."

"We are working on a project that will allow more people to read good articles, and we need the help of a calligrapher like you, Miss."

Liu Qingci was skeptical, but in the late summer, she arrived at Cui Zhihao's workshop.

When she saw the neatly arranged movable type and the newly printed pages, her eyes flashed with shock and admiration.

"This...this will change everything."

Liu Qingci gently touched the clay characters, her voice trembling slightly, "I'll join."

In the following days, Shi Wanxia visited several more special talents.

She persuaded Chen, a master carpenter from the south of the city, to use his exquisite skills to create more refined letter molds.

They found Zhao Mo, a reclusive ink maker, and improved the printing ink formula;

They even invited Zhou Wenlan, a talented scholar who was forced to sell his paintings due to his family's decline, to be in charge of editing and selecting the book's content.

As the team grew, the workshop moved from Cui Zhihao's small courtyard to an abandoned dyeing workshop on the outskirts of the city.

Shi Wanxia integrates modern management methods into teamwork, with clear division of labor and each person performing their duties.

Cui Zhihao was in charge of overall process control, Liu Qingci supervised font design, Chen the carpenter led his apprentices to make typefaces day and night, and Zhao Mo repeatedly tested ink formulas.

Shuyun was in charge of food and supplies procurement and coordination, while Lin Yiyu was in charge of building relationships and contacting people.

However, difficulties followed one after another.

Firstly, clay movable type is prone to damage after repeated use, so Cui Zhihao tried adding special materials to increase its strength;

Secondly, the ink was either too thin and caused smudging, or too thick and caused clogging. Zhao Mo tried dozens of formulas but was still not satisfied.

The most challenging issue was typesetting; the poems carefully selected by Zhou Wenlan often resulted in misalignment during typesetting...

One rainy night, the team, which had been working continuously for many days, fell into a slump.

The ink failed again, and most of the new batch of clay movable type cracked during firing, leaving little money left.

"Perhaps we're being too wishful," Zhou Wenlan said, slumping down. "Books have always been precious; perhaps this is fate."

"No!" Shi Wanxia stood up abruptly, raindrops dripping from her hair.

It is precisely because it is precious that we want more people to be able to own it.

Think of those children who yearn to read but cannot afford books, and those people who are oppressed because they are illiterate!

Cui Zhihao silently walked to her side, his voice firm: "Wanxia is right. If we fail today, we'll try again tomorrow. If movable type doesn't work, we'll try wooden movable type; if wooden movable type doesn't work, we'll try metal movable type. We'll find a way eventually."

Liu Qingci wiped away her tears and picked up her brush again: "I'll write another set of characters that are clearer."

Carpenter Chen patted Zhou Wenlan on the shoulder: "Old Zhou, your selection of 'Thousand Family Poems' is excellent; we can't give up halfway."

Zhao Mo was already squatting beside the ink vat, continuing to mix new formulas: "I refuse to believe I can't find suitable ink!"

After working through the night, a turning point finally appeared.

Zhao Mo unexpectedly discovered that adding a certain resin could improve the adhesion of ink;

Choi Ji-ho adjusted the firing temperature, which significantly improved the strength of the clay movable type;

Liuqing Porcelain redesigned the font spacing, making the layout more aesthetically pleasing;

Shi Wanxia then devised a method to fix the movable type with thin bamboo strips, thus solving the misalignment problem.

Lin Yiyu and Shuyun checked for misspelled or missing characters, with each person having a clear division of labor.

When the first complete copy of "A Selection of Poems from a Thousand Poets" was taken off the printing press, everyone held their breath.

The handwriting on the pages is clear and neat, the ink is even, and the binding, though simple, is ingenious.

"We...successfully?" Liu Qingci's voice trembled.

Cui Zhihao gently turned the pages of the book and read aloud: "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

"Today, we not only practice what we preach, but we also set a precedent."

Looking at the tired yet excited faces of everyone on the team, Shi Wanxia felt a surge of emotions.

This is just the beginning; there are still many challenges ahead, but the success we have achieved so far proves that the dream of universal access to knowledge will eventually become a reality.

Just as everyone was celebrating, the workshop door was suddenly kicked open violently. A group of servants wielding clubs stormed in, and the man in brocade robes at the head of the group sneered, "I heard someone's been privately printing books here, disrupting the market? Smash it!"

Cui Zhihao quickly shielded Shi Wanxia behind him, but a thick stick slammed heavily onto his shoulder, making a sickening cracking sound...